comScore data revealed that online visitors from outside the UK outnumbered the domestic audience in the case of The BBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, The Independent, The Daily Mail, The Mirror and The Financial Times.

The Financial Times had the highest percentage of international visitors, with 85 percent of its audience originating from outside the UK. 

Five.TV, ITV, BSkyB, and Channel 4 were the only four top properties whose UK audience was larger than their international audience.

More than 60 percent of visitors to BBC sites are from overseas, comScore added.

“The Internet allows consumers to view relevant content at any site from anywhere in the world.  It is therefore critical for publishers and advertisers to understand their global franchise – not just their U.K. audience,” commented Bob Ivins, managing director of comScore Europe.

“The Internet will always be a global medium, and audiences often follow interests more than national boundaries.  Agencies need to be aware of this and not buy a U.K. based title without doing the research and thinking that they will get a U.K.-only audience.  Research like this is enlightening because it makes people think about established media channels differently,” said Dan Calladine, research director of Isobar.

*Unique visitors aged 15+

**Excludes traffic from public computers such as internet cafes, or access from mobile phones or PDAs

*** International traffic defined as online visitation originating from outside the U.K.

Source: comScore